


Take It In

by Shaw



Series: Surviving Your Coworkers: A Cohesive Guide to Working in Blackwatch [7]
Category: Blackwatch - Fandom, Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Gen, If Genji doesn't die Angela might just kill him, Moira should be dead and Genji just might be on his way, Near Death Experiences, mentions of vomit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 09:50:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14668520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaw/pseuds/Shaw
Summary: “Holy shit.” The words were out of Jesse’s mouth before he could stop them. The three remaining table mates sat there and stared at Genji for what felt like an eternity. Finally Jolene spoke.“Is he dead?”“Well, I’d hope not. Figure that’d piss a couple people right off.”





	Take It In

There were few things to be said about the vices of Blackwatch agents. They were innumerous, yes, and tended to be against the rules. This stopped none of them from indulging in them. One such time happened to be that afternoon, several of the agents gathered round in the Mess after hours with unmarked bottles sitting atop the table. 

 

“What’s the haul?” Lihua inquired as she picked up one of the bottles, inspecting the amber liquid within it. Jesse squinted in turn, wishing for the hundredth time that they just left the labels on the damn bottles. It wasn’t like it wasn’t obvious what was in them. Malik-- who Jesse had ever been too fond of but trusted enough to bring good booze-- waved a hand dismissively at Lihua’s skepticism. 

 

“That? Oh, you know. Just a bottle of Winchesters.” Jesse perked up considerably. Moira hummed in approval and looked longingly at the bottle still in Lihua’s grasp. 

 

“How’da lowlife like you go about gettin’ your hands on that?” Malik made a face at Jesse but merely rolled his eyes as he took the bottle back and set it in the middle once more. 

“None of your business, McCree! Just be happy I’m bothering to share with the likes of you, aight? Shit’s expensive, you know.” 

 

“You say this as if you actually spent your own money.” Moira mused, fingers steepled together as she caught sight of a bottle that was unmistakably of Bailey’s cream. Malik’s mouth flapped uselessly before he closed it and shook his head. Lihua snorted softly and grabbed a bottle of what Jesse figured was either gin, vodka, or tequila. They’d find out once they cracked it open. 

 

Moira excused herself momentarily to retrieve a large mug of coffee, regrouping as the drinking began and spiking her drink generously with the Bailey’s. They mainly drank in silence, all contemplating how plastered they planned on getting together. It was only 5:30 after all and they had the whole night ahead of them. Jesse watched Moira with vague interest, slowly sipping off the Winchester in an effort to savor it. She had, in the past ten minutes alone, downed two cups of coffee and was going on her third. He contemplated telling her to slow it down but thought better of it. 

 

With idle chatter that mainly culminated in the group all subtly insulting one another, the time ticked by. Lihua stuck close to the gin and tonic punctuated frequently by a glass of water; Malik had already taken several vodka shots and was starting to darken in the cheeks. One of Jesse’s other old squad members, a real stout of a woman named Jolene, was competing with Jesse on who could get the most of the Winchester before it ran dry. When the cluck struck 7:15 an alarm started going off on someone’s watch. 

 

“Damn.” Moira had just poured and spiked her tenth cup of coffee. Most everyone at the table was looking at her with slight apprehension. Was she aware of how much caffeine she had just ingested? Did it even bother her? She ignored their unsubtle stares and merely knocked back the rest of her drink in one go. Jolene gave a low whistle at this and shoved her own lips to her drink as she looked elsewhere. 

 

“I must be leaving. Business as usual. If I end up seeing any of you in my office later tonight…” She let the vague threat hang over the group. Malik burped softly and made a face that spoke of great displeasure. Jesse figured he’d be retiring shortly as well, judging from how he’d started to sway in his seat. Some people just couldn’t hold their liquor. 

 

It took Jesse several moment to register who took Moira’s place. He stared at the man for a good couple minutes before the realization hit him like a slap to the face. 

 

“Oh,” He blurted dumbly. “Howdy, Genji.”

 

“Hm?” Lihua looked up from her holopad at this point, having grown bored with the mindless chatter some time ago. Her dark eyes slowly slid from Jesse to Genji. A cruel curve came to her lips. Malik had shifted away from the cyborg, probably thinking himself subtle. Peyton, who had been silent seemingly the whole time and hadn’t made much fuss, got up and just flat out left. They took the last of the bourbon with them and Jesse felt a spike of annoyance at this pulse through his veins. 

 

“Look who crawled out of his cave, huh? What-- you decided us lessers were actually worth your time?” Genji didn’t respond to Lihua’s rousing. He kept his gaze level with the table and sat straight backed and stiff. Jesse ran a hand through his hair and scowled, ducking his head. 

 

“Darling, will you shut your bitchin’ trap? Can’t you suffer to be nice for once in you life?” Jolene puffed air through her nose in the hint of a laugh. Malik merely burped again, clearly trying to keep his stomach from up-ending itself onto the table. Lihua actually threw her head back and laughed at him. To his face. She must’ve been drinking under the table if she was drunk enough to do so. 

 

“Go fuck yourself, McCree!” Her laughter actually dissolved into giggles. Giggles, which Jesse wasn’t used to hearing but had most definitely heard before. He tried to frown but a sharp grin managed to find it’s way on his face. 

 

“You devil-woman-- Askin’ you to be nice is like askin’ a dog to meow. You’re an absolute nightmare of a person!... Remind me why I bother with ya?” The tension dissipated the tiniest bit as Lihua and Jesse started going at it. Briefly, Jesse wondered if that was the point. He didn’t imagine Lihua to be one to care too greatly about the comfort of others, much less Genji Shimada. The two weren’t on the best terms, as far as Jesse knew. 

 

“Because nobody else will put up with your dumbass cowboy schtick.” Came the quick response. Jesse gave an insulted huff and looked at Malik and Jolene for back up. Jolene merely gave him a thoughtful look in return and shrugged her broad shoulders. Malik wasn’t looking much to talking and Jesse wasn’t so sure he was even processing what was happening around him anymore. 

 

“It’s charming, and it aint a schtick. It’s a lifestyle.” A pause followed and Jesse finally turned his gaze back to Malik. He kicked him under the table and growled out a warning to go clean up and put himself to bed. Nobody wanted to drag him back to the barracks and they sure as all Hell didn’t want him throwing up in there either. The man nodded blearily and got up to stumble his way to the washrooms. Jolene looked after him with a straight face before turning her attention back to the others. Her gaze wandered to Genji, who Jesse hadn’t dared to glance at again yet. 

 

“Darling is right though,” Genji’s eyes flickered up from the table when Jolene spoke. She had that kind of effect on people. “It’s unusual of you to join us.” Jesse released a long sigh of relief at the fact someone had acknowledged the strangeness of the situation in a more sincere tone. 

 

“I’d figure. Not to say it ain’t nice of ya to join us.” He added. Lihua screwed the cap back on the gin at long last and propped her elbows on the tabletop. She had silently tapped out for the night. Jesse figured it was pretty responsible of her. 

 

“It’d do you good to actually respond when you’re spoken to, jackass. We’re trying to be polite.” Lihua’s voice was sharp when she spoke, lips drawing back in a snarl of sorts. Jolene waved her off silently, pushing the Winchester towards Jesse. She must’ve been winding down too. He took it happily, glad he’d paced himself tonight rather than drinking how he usually did. A soft click and a hiss drew his eyes back to Genji. 

 

It was unexpected. That was for sure. Jesse found himself staring at Genji for a good long while in a silence that felt a bit stunned. Nobody else spoke either. The man set his face plate on the table gently and put his hands back in his lap. He stared intently at each of his fellow agents in turn, the red LEDs in his eyes casting a dim glow over his scarred cheekbones. Even Lihua seemed to be a loss for anything to say in the moment. 

 

“Well, how do.” Jesse finally spluttered, tipping his hat to Genji and trying to drink away the awkwardness he suddenly felt. They’d all been staring, sure, but that didn’t make him feel any better about doing so. It was just… His face. 

 

Yes, Jesse minded himself. It was just his face, after all. No need to get all worked up over nothing. Except it wasn’t quite nothing. Maybe Jesse just hadn’t expected so much of it to have been synthetic. 

 

“Well, you’re not as ugly as I expected under there.” Jesse cringed at Lihua’s abrasiveness. He looked to Genji to gauge his reaction on it but he said nothing. He merely worked his jaw as if he was configuring something to say. When he finally spoke it was in a hard, rasping voice. One that sounded as if it hadn’t really been used in a while. His words were slow and purposefully formed otherwise. 

“Ugly, perhaps, but not as hideous as your personality.” It wasn’t what Jesse had expected and he actually laughed aloud. He startled himself slightly with just how loud it came out and proceeded to busy his mouth with his drink as Lihua blinked in surprise. A grin played out over her face nonetheless and she slapped the table. 

 

“I’ll be damned. He actually speaks! You two catch that? It’s a momentous occasion.” Jolene nodded sagely along, brushing her hair back behind her ear. Jesse merely watched as Genji set his hands on the table and fidgeted, staring intently at the bottle of vodka that Peyton had left behind. 

 

“You need a glass?” Jesse tried. Genji didn’t look at him. 

 

“I do not know.” 

 

“That’s a dumb answer. It’s a yes or no question.” Lihua spoke. 

 

“Not at the risk of being rude for nothing, but…” Jolee considered Genji for a moment before continuing to speak. “Can you drink? Anything, for that matter, not necessarily alcohol.” The lights on Genji’s body seemed to flare for a moment and Jesse watched the synthetic muscle of his lower jaw tense. 

 

“We will find out.” Before anyone could get another word in edgewise or make a half assed effort to stop him, Genji had grabbed the vodka bottle by the neck and started to chug. Jesse supposed he was once a man who certainly was no stranger to the burn of alcohol. A long span of silence followed as Genji kept going. Even Lihua shifted as if she was starting to consider taking the bottle from him. It was about that time he separated and placed it down heavily. 

 

“You good there, chief?” Jesse had one eyebrow cocked up. Genji was gulping down air at the moment, seeming to be fighting a coughing fit in a way only a man with stupid pride would try to. 

 

“No need to try and prove yourself or something, jackass. We’ve been drinking since five o’clock; It’s not like you need to play catch-up.” Genji took several more seconds to compose himself, clearing his throat with a sound like static from a speaker. Nobody deigned to comment on the noise. Jolene rested her cheek in her palm at this point, watching the cyborg with a look Jesse had long since connected to her expressing concern. 

 

“I am fine.” 

 

“Right.” The reply came out of his mouth before he could stop it, and Jesse felt a little heat creep up under his collar for his troubles as Genji shot him a look like Hellfire. He turned away, instead staring at Lihua’s hands as she slowly drummed her fingers on the table. 

 

Usually silence was to be expected when their numbers dwindled down over time, but Jesse was having some trouble coping with it at the moment. He tapped a finger near Lihua and gestured for her to give him her holopad. She made a face at him. 

 

“Where’s yours?” He shrugged noncommittally and grunted. Jolene answered for him. 

 

“Probably left it in his room. Must be nice having one of those to yourself.” 

 

“Not my fault I’m so special they gave me my own quarters. Can’t say I miss the barracks though.” Lihua’s expression soured in a rather startlingly genuine way and Jesse tried to smooth it over with an apologetic smile shot her way. She sneered at him in response but said nothing on the matter. The holopad’s clip was tossed his way and with a touch of a button the hard light projection flickered to life. 

 

“What are you planning, Jesse?...” Jolene sounded resigned at best and tired at worst. She’d always been a rather sleepy drinker. Jesse was surprised she’d lasted this long. She wasn’t known for her alcohol capacity after all. 

 

“Just wanted to play some tunes. Somethin’ smooth, help the liquor settle.” 

 

“If you play that yodel-hee stuff...” Lihua started. Jesse shooed her off with a wave of his hand and hit play when he finally found a song to his liking. Soft guitar started up, followed by a husky voice. Couldn’t go wrong with the classics. Nothing could top Cash. Lihua didn’t seem totally object to his choice but still wore the smallest frown. Jesse glanced Genji’s way and faltered slightly. 

 

The man’s eye were half lidded, the usual red glow faltered to a dim pulse. Jesse wasn’t entirely sure what that entailed but he’d certainly never seen it happen before. Not to say he’d seen much of Genji. It reminded him a bit of when a machine went into stand-by mode. Genji wasn’t a machine though, at least not totally, so--

 

Jesse’ thoughts were cut off as Genji’s whole body shuddered violently and his eyes rolled back. In a way that could almost be described as comical if it weren’t for the circumstances, Genji’s body slowly collapsed forward. He hit in the table with a good sollid thump. 

 

“Holy shit.” The words were out of Jesse’s mouth before he could stop them. The three remaining table mates sat there and stared at Genji for what felt like an eternity. Finally Jolene spoke. 

 

“Is he dead?” 

 

“Well, I’d hope not. Figure that’d piss a couple people right off.” Jesse murmured in reply. He got up and leaned over to Genji, hesitantly pressing his fingers into the meat of his neck. He wasn’t completely sure if the man had a normal pulse anymore but it was at least good to check. He’d seen people pass out drunk before but Genji wasn’t just any person. 

 

“I can’t, uh, find his pulse, actually.” Lihua hummed in a way that sounded almost thoughtful as Jesse announced the news. Jolene stood slowly, face set like stone. 

 

“I’ve decided I would rather like to go to bed. Was nice drinking with you all.” She announced before walking off at a pace that no drunk woman had the right to go at. Jesse couldn’t blame her for bouncing at that exact moment. This wasn’t exactly what any of them had signed up for. Jesse looked to Lihua desperately. She stared back blankly. 

 

“Oh, c’mon. He can’t be dead just right here like a bird dropped from the sky. Get the fuck up and help me get him to the med bay. Quick about it, Darling, hurry the Hell up!” Jesse was already starting to pick Genji up as he spoke. The guy weighed quite a damn bit, even to Jesse’s standards. Lihua got up with a grumble, shoving her holoclip into her backpocket as she went. She took Genji’s otherside and grunted softly as she lifted him up. Johnny Cash continued to serenade them as they moved with about as much haste as possible toward the other side of the compound. 

 

Jesse tried his best to see if he could rouse Genji from whatever stupor he’d drunken himself into, but not much seemed to be working. Occasionally a sound like gears grinding together came from somewhere accompanied by a clicking that he could only described as that of an archaic car engine struggling to start. Lihua seemed pretty convinced they were lugging a dead man around and mused to Jesse that Moira was going to be absolutely livid. 

 

When they made it to the med bay they were met by Angela’s assistant, who took one look at Genji and started yelling at their team to assemble as quickly as possible. Angela came bustling from somewhere shortly after, looking a hot mess. She looked right ready to scream when she saw her miracle project stretched haphazardly on a cot where Jesse, Lihua, and the other worker bees had managed to arrange him.

 

Before either of them could ask questions, they were dismissed. Jesse stood for a long time staring at the med bay doors, trying to pick up anything from the other side. Lihua stood silently by his side, arms crossed over her chest. 

 

“You figure he’ll be alright?” Jesse finally asked. Lihua didn’t answer for some time. Finally, with a long exhale, she spoke. 

 

“I mean, we can truthfully say he’s likely been through worse. Can’t we?”

 

“Mm.” Jesse didn’t it none too amusing in the moment but duly appreciated the woman’s attempts to diffuse the situation. When she bumped her arm against his he finally wrenched his gaze away from the closed doors. 

 

“Come on, Jesse. Standing around isn’t going to do anything. Let’s go clean up before someone important sees all that hooch.” At hearing his first name drop from Lihua’s tongue, Jesse felt the least bit put to ease. He set a hand on Lihua’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. She regarded him with a subdued look on her face before slugging him in the chest. 

 

“Don’t get like that on me now, McCree. I’m still pissed you made me lug Mister Million Dollar Man across the complex.” 

 

“Nobody forced ya to, Darling. Thank you though, really. Prolly should’a stopped him before he did it though.” They spoke as they walked, shoulders bumping together. 

 

“I doubt he’d have let us. Seems the stubborn type.” Jesse huffed softly at this, shaking his head. 

 

“We’re all the stubborn type ‘round here. A’figure it’s how we’re all still kickin’.”

 

“No shit, huh?” Their conversation came to a lull as the two started dividing the remaining alcohol between themselves. Lihua gave Jesse full rights to the last of the gin and the whiskey, but insisted she get the vodka. They both agreed on giving Moira the rest of the Bailey’s but rather disagreed on who would give it to her. 

 

“You might as well do it, since I bet you’re going back there anyways.” Jesse faltered at this, brow furrowing. Lihua caught his questioning expression and pursed her lips. 

 

“What, aren’t you going back to check on him?”

 

“Why’dya figure?”

 

“Because you’re that kind of person.” She explained, shrugging. Jesse swallowed, humming tunelessly in response. Lihua wasn’t technically wrong he supposed. Genji wasn’t a friend, and he was hardly a co-worker given the guy still wasn’t even an active operative, but Jesse had always had a weak spot for fellow troubled souls. After all, misery loves company. Uncapping the gin and tipping back for a long drink, Jesse smacked his lips and considered the option sincerely. 

 

“You’re thinking pretty hard about this for a guy who’s been drinking whiskey since five.” Lihua commented, gathering up the shot glasses. 

 

“Not all of us are impulsive drinkers.” 

“Bold of you to assume some of us are ever not impulsive.” 

 

“Touché.” 

 

In all, the job was quick. When they were done the clock read 10:15 and the Mess looked like nothing had transpired. Well. All except Genji’s face plate. Jesse had caught sight of it sitting stranded on the floor. It must’ve been knocked off when they were maneuvering the man around earlier. Jesse pocketed it with a soft sigh. Looks like he really was going to be taking that trip to the med bay later.

**Author's Note:**

> I sat on this idea for a while because I was busy with work and actually playing Overwatch. I hope everybody enjoys the anniversary event; may you get lots of loot boxes! Kudos appreciated, comments adored, and don't forget to read the other works in the series! Addio


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